12 Sep 11: Explosion at French nuclear waste plant: An explosion at a French nuclear waste processing plant that killed one person and injured four others sparked fears of a radioactive leak on Monday. An emergency safety cordon was thrown around the Marcoule nuclear site near Nimes in the south of France immediately after a furnace used to melt nuclear waste exploded and caused a fire. More >>>

18 May 11: Nuclear inspector accused of complacency after reactors get all-clear:An enormous row broke out on Wednesday after the chief nuclear safety inspector gave Britain's reactor fleet the all-clear and made modest "recommendations" to be incorporated in the planned new plant design. Critics immediately accused Mike Weightman of rushing to judgment and "complacency" in his interim report on the lessons to be learned from the Fukushima atomic crisis. More >>>

21 Apr 11: BBC Radio 4 The Report: examining safety at Hinkley. In the wake of Fukushima, Andy Denwood investigated the recent record of Britain's nuclear safety agency: is the inspectorate - relaunched this month - up to the job? Interviews with John Large, Joan Girling at Sizewell, Jim Duffy and Stop Hinkley campaigners.Listen to the programme here.

30 Mar 11: Japan Maximum Nuclear Alert: In Japan, radiation levels in the seawater near the Fukushima plant continue to rise. They're now more than 3.5 thousand times higher than normal. Radioactive material has also been detected in soil at the facility. More >>>

21 Mar 11: Japan Extended Reactor's Life, Despite Warning: Just a month before a powerful earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant at the center of Japan's nuclear crisis, government regulators approved a 10-year extension for the oldest of the six reactors at the power station despite warnings about its safety. More >>>

11 Mar 11: Halt work for safety's sake: Some weeks ago Professor Busby found that EdF documents showed ten tonnes of enriched uranium peppered over the proposed site for Hinkley C. He said this could be harmful to workers and residents if the ground is disturbed for construction work. More >>>

Feb 2011: Energy major EDF has indicated that there is a technical flaw in 34 of its 58 French nuclear reactors that could affect the ability of the assets to operate in line with existing safety practices. The facilities in question are the company's 900 MW reactors that were constructed in the 1970s, at which time current standards relating to water injection - one of the main safety measures used to cool the reactors in the event of an emergency - were not in place. "When the reactors were designed, there were no standards concerning the precision of measuring the high-pressure (water) flows," EDF said in a statement on its website, adding that the precision of these systems was around 80 per cent of the current standard. [UXPRESS Issue 125]

21 Jul 10: Fallujah children's 'genetic damage': Cancer, leukaemia and infant mortality are all increasing in the Iraqi town of Fallujah, which saw fierce fighting between US forces and Sunni insurgents, a new survey says. Still one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, doctors have been reporting a large number of birth defects since the 2004 offensive. John Simpson reports. More >>>

30 May 10: Longest FOI battle ends in defeat over cancer data: Scotland's first, longest and most disputed Freedom of Information case has ended up keeping vital cancer statistics secret. After two investigations, numbers that might shed light on the links between children's blood cancer and radioactive pollution have been kept under wraps. The Scottish Green Party, which made the original request, is frustrated and annoyed. The Scottish Health Service, which fought to keep the information confidential, sounds relieved. More >>>

27 Nov 09: Nuclear reactors contain safety flaws, watchdog reveals:In the race to provide energy for the nation's future, two multinational companies have led the way with designs for reactors that promised clean, green electricity with unprecedented safety. But detailed reviews by the Health and Safety Executive highlight a series of shortcomings in security and safety systems in both reactors that must be fixed or redesigned before the power plants can be approved for construction. More >>>

14 Sep 09: The medical and economic costs of nuclear power:"Telling states to build new nuclear plants to combat global warming is like telling a patient to smoke to lose weight." A recent study sponsored by the German government examined children who lived near 16 of the country's commercial nuclear power plants. The results revealed a strongly increased risk of all childhood cancers, particularly leukaemia, the closer the proximity of the children's residence to the reactor. More >>>>

10 Sep 09: Ex-soldier died of cancer caused by Gulf War uranium: The death of an ex-soldier from cancer was caused by his exposure to depleted uranium during the 1991 Gulf War, an inquest jury ruled. The panel found it was more likely than not that his death in June last year was ''caused or contributed to'' by the radioactive material which is used in military munitions. More >>>

25 Aug 09: MP reveals coolant leaks at Hinkley B: THERE have been 12 leaks and four fires at Hinkley B power station since 2001, it emerged this week. The information was released by a parliamentary under-secretary in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, in response to a question about fires and leaks at all of Britain's nuclear power stations. More >>>

13 May 09: Oldbury health risks are a concern:Unfortunately, the report clearing Oldbury nuclear power station of health risks has some important problems. For example, the South West Public Health Observatory said it examined cancers within 10km of the nuclear site but missed out Chepstow. More >>>

10 May 09: Safety threat to planned nuclear power stations:Britain's plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations have been thrown into jeopardy by startling official safety fears. The nuclear regulatory body in Finland, where the first of the reactors is being built, has taken the extraordinary step of threatening to halt its construction because it has not been satisfied that key safety systems will work. More >>>

21 Apr 09: New nuclear plants could prove costly in many ways: Once more, members of the public are being conned into a spurious "consultation" exercise on the siting of new nuclear power stations at sites that already support nuclear power plants, including Hinkley B and Oldbury, and being given a contemptible month in which to express their views. More >>>

08 Feb 09: New nuclear plants will produce far more radiation:Industry documents reveal modern reactors more dangerous in an accident than the ones they replace. The revelations - based on information buried deep in documents produced by the nuclear industry itself - calls into doubt repeated assertions that the new European Pressurised Reactors will be safer than the old atomic power stations they replace. More >>>

07 Jan 09: Warning over Hinkley waste shipped to US:CAMPAIGNERS have slammed a decision by Hinkley Point bosses to ship nuclear waste to the US. Magnox, the firm that runs Hinkley Point A plant, has won approval to ship hundreds of tons of nuclear waste for recycling in Tennessee. Stop Hinkley spokesman Jim Duffy said: "This radioactive metal should be isolated from the environment." More >>>

19 Dec 08: Anger at Oldbury nuclear plant's two-year extension:Anti-nuclear campaigners have reacted with astonishment after Oldbury nuclear power station was been given permission to carry on generating for another two years. The atomic plant had been set to close down at the end of December. But a delay in the defuelling schedule meant it was possible for the station on the banks of the river Severn to stay in operation, provided site regulators gave their approval. More >>>

21 Nov 08: How safe is it to live near a nuclear power station?:Studies in 2001 showed 50%t more breast cancers in the population downstream of Oldbury over a six-year period, a third more prostate cancers downwind of Oldbury, and 11 times more leukaemia cases in Chepstow directly across the Severn from Oldbury. This week's court ruling that pesticide spraying can harm peoples' health should be listened to by the nuclear industry. More >>>

20 May 08: IN DENIAL ON DANGERS OF RADIATION: In the light of the Government's new proposals to sanction more nuclear power stations and a newer, more deadly generation of "Trident" submarines, one can see that admitting the truth about radioactivity would cause such public outrage that both these proposals would be voted out of court. More>>>

15 May 08: KEPT IN DARK ABOUT POWER STATION SAFETY: As a local resident, I have always been assured that a meltdown accident could never happen at Hinkley Point because of the built-in safety systems in the British AGR reactors. I am therefore dismayed to hear that the important last resort safety system is missing at Hinkley Point B power station. More>>>

09 May 08: NUCLEAR STATION FACES SHUTDOWN OVER SAFETY: SCOTLAND 'S oldest nuclear power station is at the centre of fresh safety fears after it was revealed it may be impossible to shut down its reactors in an emergency. Nuclear inspectors admit that a vital shut-down mechanism at Hunterston B in Ayrshire is not in place. It is estimated the cost of making the shut-down systems safe at Hunterston B and its sister plant, Hinkley Point B in Somerset, could be upwards of £100million. More>>>>

12 Apr 08: Nuclear super-fuel too hot to handle: The energy we can get from uranium is set to rocket, but safety fears and waste disposal problems loom. IT SEEMS like a no-brainer. Make uranium burn stronger, hotter and longer in nuclear reactors, and you'll need less fuel, and there'll be less waste to deal with when it has been exhausted. More>>>>>

06 Mar 08: HEALTH EXPERTS REJECT INFANT DEATH STUDY BY GREEN GROUP: Claims there has been a threefold rise in the number of infant deaths downwind of Hinkley Point nuclear power station have been dismissed by the region's health experts. Results of a study by anti-nuclear group Green Audit have been branded "misleading" by Dr Julia Verne, director of the South West Public Health Observatory in Bristol. More>>>>>

06 Mar 08: Row erupts over Hinkley Point infant mortality figures: A report by health officials disputing high infant death rates in the Burnham-On-Sea area around Hinkley Point may have diluted the statistics by examining populations less likely to be affected, nuclear campaigners claimed. The 'Stop Hinkley' group has this week called for fresh research into the risk of breast cancer, leukaemia and infant mortality concentrated in the same affected populations. More>>>>>

04 Mar 08: MORTALITY HOTSPOT IS DISPUTED: Claims that infant mortality rates are three times higher downwind of Hinkley Power station in Somerset. Towns such as Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge were identified in a study as having infant death rates three times higher than the norm. The figures were revealed by Dr Chris Busby of Green Audit, who was commissioned to carry out the study by protest group Stop Hinkley. More>>>>>

02 Mar 08: Health experts slam Hinkley claims: NEW claims by anti-nuclear campaigners that towns downwind of Hinkley Point Power Station show a three-fold rise in infant mortality rates have this week been attacked by health experts. Brean, Berrow, Burnham, Highbridge, Huntspill, Combwich and Pawlett were identified in a new study as having infant death rates three times higher than the norm. More>>>(Including Readers' comments)

01 Mar 08: N-PLANT CANCER FEARS HIGHLIGHTED: Infant mortality is almost three times more likely to occur in Severn Estuary towns and villages downwind of Hinkley Point power station than inland parts of Somerset. Details of the study by Dr Chris Busby, of Green Audit, which was supported by a former director of the South West Cancer Registry, were aired last night on the BBC's Inside Out West programme. More>>>>>

25 Feb 08: Atomic waste clean-up plan comes under fire: Two government agencies at the heart of the nuclear industry are at war over safety concerns at some of the country's most sensitive sites. The Environment Agency believes insufficient funds have been made available by ministers for the clean-up of some sites, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is accused of making things worse. More>>>>>

04 Jan 08: Scientists take on Brown over nuclear plans: A group of scientists and academics condemn as undemocratic and possibly illegal the government's plans to force through a new generation of nuclear power stations. They warn that questions about the risks from radiation, disposal of nuclear waste and vulnerability to a terrorist attack have not been addressed. More>>>>>

01 Jan 08: FURY AS NUCLEAR CORE CHECKS ARE 'SKIPPED':Outraged campaigners have hit out at proposals to delay maintenance at a blighted South Gloucestershire power station. Members of the Shut Oldbury Campaign are furious an inspection shut-down date scheduled for November will now take place after the reactor's permanent closure at the end of 2008. More>>>>>

25 Oct 07: NUCLEAR POWER STATION PLANS IN JEOPARDY: Plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations have been hit by a series of obstacles, according to leaked reports. The Government has signalled its backing for new reactors - almost certain to include one at Hinkley Point i. But the documents said the proposals may have to be put on hold because of a shortage of experts to carry out design assessments. More>>>>>

20 July 07:Hinkley child cancer claims rubbished: CLAIMS made by anti-nuclear campaigners that an increase in youth cancer cases has been found near Hinkley Point have been rubbished by the power plant. Protest group Stop Hinkley says a new compilation of international studies into childhood leukaemia shows a 23% rise above average in the disease near more than 200 nuclear sites. More >>

17 Jun 07:Revealed: faulty nuclear reactor was allowed to operate without safety alarm: Britain 's nuclear watchdog last month allowed a faulty nuclear reactor to start up even though it had not been fitted with an important safety system, startling internal documents seen by The Independent on Sunday reveal. The documents also show that the Nuclear Installation Inspectorate (NII) judged that the reactor, at Oldbury nuclear power station in Gloucestershire, was not safe enough to operate for the next 18 months, but allowed it to go onstream until November anyway.

05 Jun 07:Probe into nuclear station fire: BOSSES at Oldbury nuclear power station have launched a top level inquiry into last week's blaze which has once again put the "dinosaur" atom plant out of action. People out and about near the plant reported a loud bang and an alarming release of steam as the fire tripped automatic mechanisms and the reactor was deactivated as a precautionary measure.

31 May 07: BLAZE SPARKS SAFETY FEARS AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT: A blaze broke out at an ageing nuclear power station, just days after it was given permission to start up again amid safety fears. A generator burst into flames at the plant in Oldbury, which restarted producing electricity only on Sunday. It had been shut down for the past two years because of government inspectors' concerns about corrosion of the graphite core. Angry campaigners branded the decision to allow the reactor to be switched on again as "Russian roulette".

31 May 07: NUCLEAR IS STILL A WORRY: NUCLEAR power is supposed to be the answer to many of our future energy problems. But despite its many virtues, the nuclear industry has always been blighted with fears over safety.

08 May 07: Hinkley B given clean bill of health:HINKLEY Point B power station has been given a clean bill of health and licensed for the next ten years, despite the continuing safety concerns of anti-nuclear campaigners and the NII's criticisms of Hinkley over an apparent shortage of some of the information.

26 Apr 07:HINKLEY BREAST CANCER CLAIMS SPARKS NEW ROW:A furious row has broken out over claims that an unexpected cluster of cancer cases has been found near Hinkley Point nuclear power station. Anti-nuclear campaigners yesterday claimed the death rate from breast cancer in one part of Burnham-on-Sea was 70 per cent above the national average for the 10 years to 2005.

14 Mar 07: NUCLEAR PLANT 'FACES DANGER OF FLOODING' A plan to dump hundreds of tonnes of radioactive waste at Hinkley Point on the Somerset coast emerged yesterday just as experts on flooding warned the station was at risk from sea level rises and storm surges.

07 Mar 07:Campaigners slam Hinkley reopeningANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners have condemned proposals to reopen Hinkley B nuclear power station after repairs taking six months. Operators British Energy closed the power station in September after cracks were discovered in pipes in the boiler system of one of Hinkley B's two reactors.

30 Dec 06:HINKLEY B TO STAY SHUT UNTIL MARCH Hinkley Point B nuclear power station will remain shut down until March. One reactor was shut down in September for maintenance and when cracks were found in boiler tubes the second one was also shut down so checks could be made.

26 Oct 06: Time running out fast for oldest nuclear plants, warn inspectors. Watchdog raises safety fear over core cracks and Minister starts search for deep waste bunker. The future of some of Britain's ageing nuclear power stations was yesterday thrown into doubt as government inspectors claimed cracks in the graphite cores of the oldest plants were so serious that a safety case for the stations operating much longer could not be made. In a separate development, the government yesterday announced that it was looking for a site for a deep bunker to store Britain's mountain of high-level nuclear waste.

24 Oct 06: Calls to close Hinkley Point. SOMERSET'S troubled Hinkley Point power station must never open again, anti-nuclear protestors warned this week. Both the station's advanced gas-cooled reactors are currently shut down due to cracks in a reactor's graphite core and deterioration of boiler pipes.

21 Oct 06: REACTOR SHUTDOWNS SPARK NEW CALLS TO CLOSE HINKLEY POINT Calls for Hinkley Point B nuclear power station to be closed for good were renewed after the announcement that the second of its reactor is to be shut down temporarily for safety checks. When the other of the stations two reactors was shut down in September for maintenance, cracks were found in boiler tubes in the reactor.

19 Oct 06: Slow death for nuclear plant?HINKLEY Point B nuclear power station is to shut down after cracks in one of the reactors were found to be worse than first thought. Jubilant anti-nuclear campaigners have claimed the move could signal the end of Hinkley Point.

18 Oct 06: SHUTDOWN AT HINKLEY B AS REACTOR PIPES CRACK Anti-nuclear campaigners have called for the Westcountry's only nuclear power station to be closed for good - after serious cracks were discovered in reactor pipes. They warned that the cracks were a sign that the ageing plant, which is due to be decommissioned in five years, had come to the end of its useful life.

04 Sep 06: REACTOR IS A DANGER TO PUBLICCampaigners are calling for Oldbury nuclear power station to shut down. The Stroud District Green party says the Magnox facility is dangerous after 38 years of generating electricity. Party spokesman Philip Booth said the station's second reactor has been out of use since June last year and the first reactor is due to come off-line this year for statutory inspections. "Why waste any more millions on propping up this dinosaur?"

01 Sep 06: Power station work on hold ENGINEERS at Oldbury atomic power station are still awaiting the go ahead to restart an allegedly clapped out nuclear reactor. But the approval has so far failed to materialise, prompting further claims that the ageing power station is too worn out to make it even to its scheduled final shut down in December 2008.

01 Sep 06: OLDBURY SHOULD GIVE UP NOW FOR SAFETY'S SAKE Safety regulators have yet to give permission for Oldbury nuclear power station to return to full power because it is unsafe, campaigners have claimed. A report in the Nuclear Safety Newsletter says tests on Reactor Two at the ageing station were continuing as planned but they had yet to give final approval for it to be restarted.

20 Jul 06: N-PLANT REACTOR SHUTDOWN WORRIESMore safety concerns have been raised over the Hinkley B nuclear power station after a malfunction in one of its control rods forced it to shut down for more than 72 hours.

06 Jul 06: More checks on reactors ordered after cracks found The government's nuclear watchdog has demanded that British Energy carry out more frequent checks on its nuclear power stations amid concerns over cracks in the reactors' cores, it emerged yesterday.
The Nuclear Safety Directorate (NSD) wrote to British Energy urging it to step up inspections after an assessment of the Hinkley Point B advanced gas-cooled (AGR) nuclear plant in April.

05 Jul 06: Documents reveal hidden fears over Britain's nuclear plantsUnexplained cracks in reactor cores increase likelihood of accident, say government inspectors. Government nuclear inspectors have raised serious questions over the safety of Britain's ageing atomic power stations, some of which have developed major cracks in their reactor cores, documents reveal today.

05 Jul 06: Cracks found at nuclear stations Unexplained cracks in the reactor cores of Britain's atomic power stations have been uncovered by nuclear inspectors. The safety assessments, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show the Nuclear Safety Directorate has issued warnings over the state of the reactor cores at Hinkley Point B and other UK nuclear plants.

05 Jul 06: Hinkley 'close to cracking up' Shock report by safety watchdogs. Unexplained cracks in reactor cores increase likelihood of accident, say government nuclear inspectors who have raised serious questions over the safety of Britain's ageing atomic power stations, some of which have developed major cracks in their reactor cores. Wear and tear on the reactors' graphite blocks is highlighted in previously unseen documents.

13 Jun 06: Breast cancer rates higher near nuclear plant Cancer levels in women living close to a former nuclear power station are more than 15 times higher than the national average, claims a TV documentary. The documentary reveals the shocking results of a survey carried out in the vicinity of Trawsfynydd nuclear power station in north Wales.

26 Apr 06: MAPPING THREAT TO CITY FROM A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT. A CHERNOBYL-style explosion at Oldbury nuclear reactor would have terrible consequences for Bristol and the rest of the country, say campaigners. Millions of people from the Bristol and London areas might have to be evacuated from their homes if the nuclear reactor exploded.

25 Apr 06: N-BLAST WOULD MEAN MILLIONS BEING MOVED. Millions of people from Bristol to London might have to be evacuated if a Chernobyl-style explosion occurred at Oldbury. Anti-nuclear campaigners have released a map based on the radiation hotspots map for Chernobyl produced for the CIA.

16 Jan 06: GREENS FEAR TERROR ATTACK ON NUCLEAR SITE. Gloucester Green Party claims a shocking new report confirms fears that nuclear power stations are and will be terrorist targets. A Gloucester Green Party spokesperson said the sites at Berkeley and Oldbury could be at risk.

04 Jan 06: ERODING THE POWER OF NUCLEAR FUEL. Nearly all of the UK's nuclear power stations have been built on the coast but a recent study by Nirex, the UK's nuclear waste agency, has shown many of these sites are vulnerable to coastal erosion and rising sea levels resulting from climate change.

01 Nov 05: "Death of pet dogs leads to radiation fear at Hinkley"An inquiry has been launched into a claim that high radiation levels were found near Hinkley Point. The Geiger counter readings were taken by a man whose two dogs died from stomach cancer after regularly being walked in the area.

30 Oct 05: "SCHOOLKIDS PLAY IN NUKE TRAIN YARD" A DEADLY cargo of radioactive nuclear waste sat in a railway siding for hours, surrounded by houses and less than 100 metres from a school. Locals, including children, were able to walk unchallenged to within feet of it.

10 Oct 05: "N-Power stations move is welcome." Campaigners have welcomed moves to speed up decommissioning of the nuclear power stations in Oldbury and Berkeley. But they were worried it could lead to a new generation of nuclear power plants being built on the sites.

16 Sep 05: "Blight of the Nuclear Oldies."A nuclear disaster could hit Somerset if the life of Hinkley Point power station is extended, campaigners warned yesterday.

10 Sep 09: Ex-soldier died of cancer caused by Gulf War uranium: The death of an ex-soldier from cancer was caused by his exposure to depleted uranium during the 1991 Gulf War, an inquest jury ruled. The panel found it was more likely than not that his death in June last year was ''caused or contributed to'' by the radioactive material which is used in military munitions. More >>>

08 Sep 05: "Oldbury reactor core integrity." A report by Jim Duffy based on correspondence between Oldbury and the nuclear regulator, followed by two TV documentaries.

05 Sep 05: "Is Nuke plant safe?" A new investigation raises questions over the state of the Oldbury reactor's graphite core.

29 Apr 01: Young lives blighted in a nuclear wasteland: Today's shocking revelation about a child leukaemia cluster in the Severn Valley sounds a radiation health alert for all who live near nuclear plants. It was a home video that first made the family realise something might be wrong. As Sue and Allen Langford looked back at the footage of their 18-month-old son Stephen, they noticed he seemed lethargic. He usually raced up and down his favourite climbing frame, but the video showed he now had little interest.

Bristol City Council's Civil Protection Unit has responsibilities to its residents, outlined in the Civil Contingency Act 2004, which spells out a duty to assess, plan and advise in emergencies and assist the public.

Legislation means that the team will have to draw up a plan for dealing with a nuclear disaster. Bristol 's proximity to Hinkley Point power station means the city needs to be able to deal with a threat as severe as Fukushima . But surely with a power plant so close, Bristol wouldn't stand a chance in an emergency?

"The issue is we would have 40 to 50 minutes to evacuate the whole city. The only way this would be possible was if there were buses all lined up with their engines running," civil protection manager Simon Creed admits. "Our way of dealing with this would be to tell people simply to go inside, stay inside and tune in to the radio until a national rescue operation could be mobilised."

The limits to the council's abilities is something which makes the team slightly uncomfortable and the recent floods hammer home just how helpless defences could be.
More >>>